Effects of Interlimb Asymmetries on Acceleration and Change of Direction Speed: A Between-Sport Comparison of Professional Soccer and Cricket Athletes

Abstract

The first aim of the present study was to quantify and compare asymmetries among professional soccer and cricket athletes. The second aim was to examine the association between asymmetries and performance within both groups. Professional soccer (n = 18) and cricket (n = 23) athletes performed single leg countermovement jumps (SLCMJ), single leg drop jumps (SLDJ), a 10 m sprint and 505 change of direction speed (CODS) tests. Inter-limb asymmetries were calculated as a standard percentage difference, Mann-Whitney U tests conducted to establish systematic bias between groups and Spearmans r correlations used to establish the relationship between asymmetry scores and speed and CODS performance. Soccer athletes sprinted faster, jumped higher and had a greater reactive strength index (RSI) score than cricket athletes (p < 0.05). However, cricketers showed reduced ground contact times compared to footballers during the SLDJ (p < 0.05). The cricket group showed significantly greater jump height (asymmetry = 11.49 vs. 6.51%; p = 0.015) and RSI (asymmetry = 10.37 vs. 5.95%; p = 0.014) asymmetries compared to soccer players. These metrics were also associated with slower 505 times in the cricket group only (r = 0.56 to 0.74; p < 0.01). These results show that between-limb asymmetries exhibit no association with speed and CODS in elite soccer players, but are associated with reduced CODS in elite cricketers. Thus, the reduction of inter-limb asymmetries may be of greater consideration when working with cricket versus soccer athletes.

Strength, Jumping and Change of Direction Speed Asymmetries in Soccer, Basketball and Tennis Players

“…For example, Lockie et al (2014) reported ILA scores of 10.4, 5.1 and 3.3% for the CMJ UL , lateral and broad jump, respectively, which confirm the variability between unilateral jump tasks often reported in previous studies [5,12,13,15]. For CoD speed, it has been suggested that total time may not be overly sensitive at detecting existing ILAs [8,13,16], with mean values >3% rarely being reported. Thus, given the inherent differences in ILA values which may arise from different tests, it is advised that a battery of tests is used, rather than a single test, to provide a more meaningful picture of the task-specific nature of ILA.…”

“…Loud verbal encouragement was consistently provided to ensure maximum effort. For each task (90 and 180 • turn) and side (preferred, non-preferred), the main outcome measure was the total time (s) [8].…”

“…Inter-limb asymmetry (ILA), which refers to the difference in performance or function of one limb relative to the other [1], has been a popular topic in recent years. Numerous methods of assessment have been used to quantify ILA, ranging from the back squat [2] and isokinetic dynamometry [3] for strength, bilateral and unilateral countermovement (CMJ BL and CMJ UL ) and drop jumps [4][5][6][7] for jumping, and the "505" test [8] for change of direction (CoD) speed. These methods have been a common choice for assessing ILA in athlete populations, owing to the importance of strength [9], power [10] and CoD speed [11] performance in sport.…”

“…Moreover, analysing ILAs with various tests on large samples of athletes can potentially reveal the most sensitive tests for ILA detection. Bishop et al [8] conducted an inter-sport comparison of professional soccer and cricket athletes, measuring jump ILAs with CMJ UL and drop jump. No significant differences in ILA were evident between sports for the CMJ UL .…”

Importance of Agility Performance in Professional Futsal Players; Reliability and Applicability of Newly Developed Testing Protocols

“…Non-reactive agility involves an active change of direction speed (CODS). Consequently, the term “pre-planned agility” is regularly used for CODS, while RAG is often referred to as “non-planned agility” [13,18,19].…”